Small businesses ready to move forward after elections

Richard Lee

Published 7:57 pm, Thursday, November 8, 2012

President Obama has never heard of the Hope Bottle Shop in Stamford, but its owner, Kelly Thomas, is hoping that in his second term in the White House he have a better understanding of the impact of his policies on small businesses like hers.

"I think he can do more to help small businesses," said Thomas on Wednesday morning, standing behind the counter of her small shop on Hope Street. "I think Obama is a good president who has a lot of passion for the country."

But Thomas, 40, and the mother of three, said that in his first four years, the president didn't take a leadership role in connecting with small business.

In his speech early Wednesday morning to thousands of his supporters in Chicago, Obama stressed that America needs to unite to solve its challenges, and Thomas is willing to give him a chance to continue what he started in his first term.

"I don't see any major legislative changes. I don't think you'll see any tax increases take place," he said.

But having the same president for another four years will give businesses more confidence and recognition of government policy, as well as the stability they were seeking, according to Condlin.

"Businesses that have been waiting to see what will happen will say it's time to move forward," Condlin said. "Businesses will draw on their ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Now that the election is over, businesses will make adjustments. I'm anticipating that you'll see the economy continue to get better."

Rocco Corso, president of Corso Printing in Naugatuck, doesn't agree. A business owner with a staff of 10 under his employ, Corso worries that the next four years will have a negative impact on the economy and small businesses.

"I think it's going to affect everybody's business," Corso said of Obama's re-election. "If you look at what he's trying to do, we're going to be taxed to death. There's going to be things in place that small businesses are going to have to absorb and we can't absorb any more."

Concerned about health-care costs and the effect on their hiring potential, many businesses are still looking for clarification about the president's health-care reform, often referred to as Obamacare by both supporters and detractors.

"Most small businesses I talk to don't know how to comply with Obamacare," Bull said. "It's going to be incumbent on the federal government and organizations like the chamber to bring that information forward, so business owners can make informed decisions.

Bull also said he hopes that, with the uncertainty of the election's outcome now lifted, businesses will begin to hire again.

The first big test for the Obama administration and the divided Congress will be to find a way to avoid the "fiscal cliff," a popular phrase to denote when the Budget Control Act of 2011 would go into effect at the end of 2012.

Should the automatic budget cuts and tax increases occur as mandated by the act, many, including the Congressional Budget Office, say it would plunge the nation back into a recession, wiping away gains made by business in the past few years.

But Condlin is confident that the Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House will move past their differences and agree to a resolution that will extend tax cuts for one year. A bipartisan group will then be formed to find a compromise solution, he said.

"I don't see the government allowing us to go off the financial cliff," Condlin said. "The economy cannot afford the consequences that will take place if they don't take action."